Peak potential and positive transformations

Events and Ideas

Innovation is key to competitiveness in the global economy. But, too often this so-called “innovation” is just a rearrangement of an existing offer (a “renovation”), or it fails altogether.

7 out of 10 senior executives name innovation as their top priority for growth (BCG)

96% of all new projects fail to meet or beat targets for ROI (Doblin Group)

The answer to this massive wasted investment may come from the world of design. Designers and design tools can advance innovation solutions from mystery, exploration to experimentation.

What is Design Thinking?

Design thinking intimidates people—it almost feels like it’s a different skill set than what us (normal people) can do. When you think of design, your mind immediately goes to fashion, and I can’t even pick out two things that should be worn at the same time. But what we’re really trying to do here is make sure we’re building something the way “a buyer would like to have it.”

Design Thinking is a popular new idea in the business world – organizations as diverse as entrepreneurial start-ups, big established corporations, Government and social service organizations are experimenting with Design Thinking as an alternative approach to traditional problem-solving.

Innovation guided by design has come to complement the market’s view that, in order to innovate, one must focus on the development or integration of new technologies and on opening and/or servicing new markets: besides these technological and marketing factors, Design Thinking consultancy innovates primarily by endowing products, services or relationships with new meanings.

Since “things must have a form to be seen, but must make sense to be understood and used” (Krippendorf, 1989), design is by nature a discipline that deals with meanings.

Gifted designers combine an aesthetic sensibility with deep capabilities for visualization, ethnography, and pattern recognition that are well beyond the grasp of most of us – entrepreneurs included. But when it comes to fostering business growth, the talent that we are interested in is not rooted in either natural gifts or studio training—it lies with having asystematic approach to problem solving. Like any process, design thinking will be practiced at varying levels by people with different talents and capabilities.

This talk aims to demystify design thinking by translating “design” from an abstract idea into a practical, everyday tool any entrepreneur can profit from.

Using a business perspective, we’ll translate the vocabulary of design, unpack the mysterious connection between design thinking and profitable growth, introduce a systematic process and share with you the ten tools you’ll need to marry the design approach to traditional business thinking in ways that enhance your ability to profitably grow your business.

What would be different if entrepreneurs thought more like designers?

Design is all about action, and business too often gets stuck at the talking stage.

Design teaches us how to make things feel real, and most business rhetoric today remains largely irrelevant to the people who are supposed to make things happen

Design is tailored to dealing with uncertainty, and business’s obsession with analysis is best suited for a stable and predictable world

Design understands that products and services are bought by human beings, not target markets segmented into demographic categories

Design has a lot of different meanings. And it turns out that the design thinking process that we are going to talk about is more akin to Dorothy’s ruby slippers than a magic wand. You’ve already got the power. You just need to figure out how to use it. Find a leader of innovation in any organization, and he or she has likely been practicing design thinking all along. If you are an entrepreneur attending this talk, get ready to roll up your sleeves—not throw up your hands. It starts with customers and the ability to create a better future for them. It acknowledges that we probably won’t get that right the first time. It does not require supernatural powers. This kind of design is absolutely safe to try at home.

We are looking for a new tool kit. We’ve come to the end of the runway on maximizing productivity and re-engineering processes. Competition has upped the ante: The Internet and the arrival of networking have made knowledge impossible to hoard. Our views of where creativity comes from are expanding: We are learning new things about our brain every day and recognizing different cognitive modes and how they perform in different contexts. Finally, the tools of design—including Post-it notes and whiteboards—have become simple and ubiquitous.

The 4 sequential questions that take us on a journey through an assessment of current reality (what is?), the envisioning of a new future (what if?), the development of some concepts for new business opportunities (what wows?), and the testing of some of those in the marketplace (what works?). Accompanying the 4 questions is a set of tools to help business people achieve the same kind of disciplined approach to innovation and growth that they bring to the rest of their business.

The Storytelling Club – Our first creative break

8th September – 6pm, Blick Shared Studios

The Storytelling Club – a creative break from the routinized world

We create these storytelling meetups to:

Explore the art of storytelling with colourful and playful activities designed to foster the sharing of stories and develop storytelling skills.

There’ll be plenty of encouragement to experiment with stories both as a group and individually.

Come and discover the storyteller within each and everyone of us and explore the ways that the sharing of stories can enrich our own lives and can nurture our families and our wider communities.

Share your story and allow yourself to be inspired by a group of a creative, clever, innovative storytellers:)

Facilitator and storyteller – Laura Mocanu

Development Coach, Creative thinker and Wellbeing Officer

SPEAK UP – ASSERTIVENESS AT WORK

29th September – Blick Shared Studio – 6pm

“If you deliberately plan to be less than you are capable of being,

then I want to worn you that,

you’ll be deeply unhappy the rest of your life.”

ABRAHAM MASLOW -psychologist

* What does being assertive mean to you? *

* Are you exercising your rights all the time, every time? *

* Are you aware when you let someone else or some other cause or outcome take precedence over your rights? *

* Is the boss who places a pile of work on an employee’s desk the afternoon before that employee goes on vacation, being assertive? *

* Or, is the employee who is about to go on vacation being assertive when he tells the boss that the work will be done upon her return? *

Well, it’s not always easy to identify truly assertive behavior.

This Tuesday, we invite you to explore different ways to improve your communication skills in the workplace and other aspects of your life , to find more creative ways to express yourself in any situation.

This workshop is highly interactive, practical and yet supportive. It uses many different forms of learning to develop assertiveness skills and lift self-confidence to enable you to work more effectively.

This workshop provides practical guidance for anyone who needs to develop their assertiveness skills for a range of workplace situations. You will gain the tools and techniques to make requests assertively, say ‘no’ to unreasonable demands, proactively address problems in the workplace, and to boost your confidence and build your self-esteem.

At the end of this workshop, you will leave with a personal action plan identifying the key changes needed to be made, the skills to practice in order to build your self-esteem, build your self-confidence and improve your assertiveness techniques.

Give people practical. actionable steps, that can not only grow their business but also increase their living experiences

that they can find their true purpose in life and bring out within the geni (genius) that lies within everyone

And how I discovered the Golden Buddha

BizCampNI – a great event for local startups

BizCamp is a casual unconference designed to help entrepreneurs share tips for success. Rather than featuring professional conference speakers, sessions are led by other entrepreneurs like you to give you the best down-to-earth, practical advice from people who’ve been through the same struggles you’re facing. And you get the chance to pass on the best information you’ve learned to help those coming up behind you.

It’s an informal and fun way to connect with successful local entrepreneurs, possible business partners, or that accountant/graphic designer/printer/cleaning service/sales person/investor/lawyer you’ve been looking for! All in one

And, oh yeah, BizCamp is completely free!

Curious about what topics Bizcamp might cover?

Here are some examples:

Basics of Business Plans

Raising money for your ideas

Web tools & iPhone apps to help you take control of your personal finances

Time management for entrepreneurs

How to build your niche doing what you love

Basics of Marketing on the Web

Monetizing Content on the Web

Basics in completing tax return

Mentoring and business support (resources and useful links to the local community)

What can I expect to get from participating in BizCamp?

A day of connecting and learning from successful entrepreneurs, being better equipped to run your own business, a better understanding of the tools that small businesses use, and knowledge of resources available to entrepreneurs.

I want to come. What should I do?

Eager to participate and share your best practice with other entrepreneurs? Sign up here: TicketsBizcampAND 2015

Why should you come?

Surround yourself with like-minded people

Share your experiences and learn from mistakes others have made

Inspire other entrepreneurs with your success stories and passion for your business

~ RESILIENCE IN THE WORKPLACE or how to BOUNCE BACK on your feet from adversities ~

This workshop is for YOU, if:

you are interested in finding ways to cope with change in a high-pressure environment or if you are someone who wants to lead himself/herself and others through change and uncertainty.

The goal of the class is to ensure that by effectively drawing on aspects of people’s personal resilience (e.g. adaptability, confidence, social support or purposefulness) they will be able to cope and respond positively to a variety of work and life situations. The emphasis is on ensuring that people have the personal resilience skills to deal with negative work pressuresand know how to make the most of the positive work ‘challenges’.

How does the workshop look like:

The course is both participative and reflective and uses innovative and creative techniques to enable participants to explore the topic of Stress and Resilience in both safe and challenging ways.

The techniques learnt on the course can be immediately applied professionally and personally.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Some ideas about resilience…

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

– American inventor, Thomas Edison

What is Resilience then?

Resilience is the ability to cope when times get tough and to recover from change and adversity. Each of us is born with a renewable capability for resilience – the built in capacity to heal, regenerate and grow – how well we utilize this depends on many things; the number and types of demands on us, our attitudes and beliefs about the world and the skills we have learnt and mastered for dealing with our environment.

“Power is the ability of not pleasing everybody else before yourself” – ELIZABETH JANEWAY

As women, we spend our lives struggling to conform to other people’s expectations. We dutifully follow a blueprint for success that was created for men in a man’s world. We squeeze our tummies and butts and thighs into so-called “shapewear” so we can look just a teeny bit more like the airbrushed supermodels we see in magazines. And when our emotions get the best of us, we stuff them deep down inside, hoping they won’t bother us – or anyone else — anymore.

No wonder so many of us feel exhausted, unfulfilled and even unsexy. It’s like the demands of life and work and relationships and motherhood took all our feminine fire and dumped a big bucket of water on it.

Well, friends, it’s time to say, “Not anymore!” It’s time to reconnect with that Goddess inside of you and let her out into the world.

It’s time to reclaim your passionate, powerful, womanly glory.

It’s time to Light Up Your Feminine Power!

Light Up Your Feminine Power is devoted to reconnecting with the Goddess you are — helping you to discover, resource and finally celebrate the fire of your unique flavor of feminine power.

Over the evening course, you’ll celebrate the beauty that you and only you possess.

You’ll experience living in and loving the body you have right now.

You’ll find a safe place to honor your feelings and emotions.

And you’ll learn to harness and use your most sacred gift – the power of your intuition – to bring you the kind of success and fulfillment you’ve only dreamed of.

Because when you fully embrace the goddess that is you, you’ll walk away with a new kind of power.

The power to be a fired-up feminine leader who gets noticed – and gets results — both personally and professionally.

Your transformation will happen as you savor and enjoy the Vividly Fulfilled Woman recipe for a life richly lived. This includes:

You’ll leave with a deep, sacred understanding of the Goddess you are, knowing exactly how to harness your feminine power, and fired up for whatever comes next!

You’ll learn:

– How to understand the light and shadow aspects of your power so you can enhance and harness both

– How to resource the truth and wisdom of your beautiful body – with way less worry and stress and way more joy and pleasure

– How other women can be your allies instead of your rivals, so your gifts are promoted for you

– How to be your own best friend — creating greater intimacy, trust and integrity in all your relationships

Anxiety and depression can often be treated naturally by doing simple things like changing your diet and lifestyle, partnered with more difficult things like discovering your true self, finding your triggers, and discovering what truly makes you happy.

Facilitator and Speaker

Laura – Professional Coach and Counsellor based in Belfast

Unleash Your Inner Strength

Body Mind Spirit Show, 22nd March, 12:30

” Confidence and self-esteem are at the heart of everything we do and the core foundation on which we build the life we desire. However, it’s fragile and volatile as we have so many influences – our norms about the world in general, other people, our environments, and many other factors that distract us from believing in ourselves.

Confidence takes practice and commitment. The alternative is staying stuck in depression, unhappiness, and negative thoughts. If you give yourself legitimate reasons to feel proud, accomplished, and worthwhile through learning, personal growth, goal-setting techniques, you will start practicing confidence and becoming a better person than you are today.

The good news is you can learn how to be and feel confident. Confidence is not something you were born with or without, it’s a learned skill. So could you feel so much better, happier and more trusting? The answer is yes.

Do you dare to face up to your fears, recognize and change the beliefs that hold you back and feel accepted for who and what you are?

If yes, JOIN US for an hour full of exercises, engaging discussions and fun!

You will learn how to create habits of success, positive thinking and empowering beliefs about yourself.

This talk is for you, if:

· You say Yes when you mean No

· You have a constant chatter of negative self-talk – ‘I’m worthless, stupid, ugly, not good enough, unacceptable…’

· Have a perfectionist attitude

· Are overly critical of yourself and others

· Don’t take personal responsibility

· Feel a Lack of drive and decision making

· Have difficulty in receiving effective criticism

· Deflect compliments as embarrassing

· Feel needy and insecure in close relationships

· You don’t know where to start with getting a plan together

In this talk you will learn:

1. Few ways to accept and embrace the parts of your being that you like and more importantly that you don’t like

2. How to create a powerful self-talk

3. Different ways to create positive self-belief and feelings

4. Design a plan of personal action and how to step outside your comfort zone

5. How to get yourself motivated to achieve the goals you established

You will feel energized, powerful, inspired, determined to become better, loved, accepted, connected, relaxed and most importantly, you will FEEL good being YOURSELF!

Laura coming from a marketing and business environment made a shift to her career and started working as a development coach 5 years ago with clients and businesses from UK and Europe. She works on one to one basis with different individuals interested in personal and professional growth and she also delivers workshops, seminars and talks for businesses based in UK.

Interested in a confidence private consultancy? Send Laura an email to arrange a meeting: info@evisioncoaching.co.uk

About the Course
The art of negotiation comes into play daily in the life of employees at all levels and in every position. Participants explore how current approaches to negotiation strategy and tactics are used, what negotiation entails, types of negotiation relationships that exist from hard bargain to win-win, to fully partnered relationships and personal ones. The course explores the personal and behavioral characteristics of an effective negotiator.

Participants discuss how empowerment, power, and authority affect the negotiation process and outcome.

Topics include how important it is to plan and prepare for a negotiation session, which strategy to use for different contexts and how to debrief the current negotiation in order to build new inspired strategies for the future.

Stages of negotiation that will be discussed:

Should I negotiate? Prepare and plan for negotation – a position based approach, based on the assessments of the resources and intentions of the negotiation.

Create a connection – Close the deal – build a long lasting relationship

Evaluate and debrief – build new principles for a successful future

Save your place now!

POSITIVITY – the fuel for a brilliant mind

This event we’ll discover why feeding your mind with the right fuel is so important.

What we will learn:

1. How to raise your frequency in a practical way so that you become a vibrational match for your dreams.

2. How to dare to move out of your comfort zone with enthusiasm and clarity

3. How to take new brave steps to claim your power.

BENEFITS:

A. During this workshop we will design a super charged triad that will condition your mind for incredible success and learn new ways about how to wire up your own Turbo button for when you need that extra boost!

B. You’ll learn the Mental Toughness tool which will allow you to maintain the level of positivity, so you don’t waste energy seesawing between positive and negative states.

C. We’ll identify the steps to realize your New Super Image
D. Tips about goals setting so that it will be easy to take action

E. Finally, we’ll celebrate the successes and gains we’ve already made, so that we can build on them in the future.

This event is organised by Abracadabra School for Creative kids.
Abracadabra School for Creative Kids is the place where each child is celebrated.

We believe every child is Unique and we acknowledge their talents, creativity and imagination, their own way of learning and interacting with peers. What do we do?

We CREATE and DELIVER interactive Shows, Workshops, Camps where children create stories, sing, move and share their ideas.

We work together, we perform and recognize each others contribution in the creation process.

Interactive Christmas Show for Children & Parents

THE STORY50 minutes of Interactive Family Show: It Sounds Like Christmas.
This is the Story of a sight loss little boy and the way he feels different and how other kids see him. The story is about acceptance, friendship, kindness and sharing. Creating a magical chorus, with non traditional instruments, made from natural materials, interacting by movement and sound, this show is really about
experiencing Christmas with its real Magic.

Learning outcomes:
Children will practice and develop the following skills:
– express their own ideas
– use their imagination and creativity
– interact with peers and parents as part
of the story
– perform and become characters in the
storyChildren will learn about:
– accepting others as they are
– kindness and friendship
– being part of a teamWhy choose us?
#We provide quality interactive experiences for children and parents.
#We use innovative concepts of alternative education like the Integrative
Learning Cycle and a 5 sense Way of
Learning that stimulates both rational and creative thinking.
#We combine fun times with learning outcomes for children.
#We are part of creating the education of the future.

Contact us for more details.
AND LET’S BRING QUALITY FAMILY TIME TO YOUR COMPANY
This event is organised in collaboration with Irina Negrila and Abracadabra Creative School.
Contact Irina:
IRINA NEGRILA, Event Manager
irina.abraschool@gmail.com, 0851 890 191http://www.abracadabracreativeschool.net
Twitter: @AbraSchool

Effective Communication Skills in the Workplace -FREE EVENT

18th November – 10 am- 12 pm

Belfast City Business Hub

What to expect?

Overview:

This workshop is designed to provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of what effective communication is.
It identifies the key components of communication, what behaviours are required and what are the barriers to effective communication and how these can be overcome.Learning Outcomes:

1.What is effective communication ?

2.The role of self-awareness and learning in the communication process

3.Methods of communication

4. The models of communication

5. Tips and tricks for an effective communication in the workplace

You can register here:

Facilitator and trainer

Laura Mocanu – Coach and Trainer Development Officer

Elite Vision Coaching

GET OFF YOUR ‘BUT’ – reduce self-sabotage

29th September, Blick Shared Studios, 52 Hill Street , Belfast

Why We Sit on Our BUTS?

Most people sit on their BUTS for one of three reasons.

They truly believe that their BUT is holding them back.They literally can ’ t move.

Getting off their BUT is too big a risk. It ’ s easier to be in the unhappy state they ’ re used to than to take the chance to be happy.

The thinking goes like this: you know that if you don ’ t study for the test, you are more than likely to fail it; yet if you study hard, you still aren’t guaranteed an A.

Some people would rather stay stuck on their BUTS, addicted to the certainty of failure, than risk the possibility of disappointment.

This is what happens when the FUD comes to ruin our plans.

FUD – FEAR, UNCERTAINTY, DOUBT

You know what? None of this is true. The sad truth is,the more you sit on your BUT, the weaker you get. If you never use your muscles, they eventually atrophy. The longer you stay frozen in that place of fear, excuses, or insecurity,the harder it becomes to get up off it.

As long as you ’re stuck on your BUT, you’ll never go after what you really want in life.

You may be able to see what you want, but it will always be just out of reach.

Is that really what you want?

During this workshop will take a step and learn new ways to get off our BUTS, to start living the life we want with the fear in our hands and determination.

Join us to make a step forward in your life:)

“PUT OFF PROCRASTINATION AND GET FOCUSED”

Take the challenge and make the first step towards your personal success!

26th February – Blick Shared Studios

51-53 Malone Road, 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm

“Personal INFLUENCE – a master key to success”

INFLUENCE is one of the “master keys” when it comes to success in any field.

Whether you’re influencing clients to buy your services, your colleagues to accept your ideas or your children to embrace the values that will keep them safe and thriving, one thing is CLEAR…

Your ability to make a difference and prosper is a function of your ability to influence.

Look around your and notice how all the business people, politicians and superstars are influencing. They seem to do this, effortlessly. But where does that “effortless influence” come from?

Several 2008 studies have shown that Barack Obama’s speech writer used specific subconscious influence language patterns extensively to help him win the Presidential Election and become one of the most powerful men in the world.

Derren Brown used subconscious influence techniques for entertainment to have people on the street willingly hand over their wallets, watches and keys, even though they didn’t know why.

If you knew, like they do, that there are certain “magic words” that you could learn to unlock the keys to the inner-minds of people around you, you would do almost anything to learn them, wouldn’t you?

What if you knew the secret language to unlock success, abundance, prosperity, connection, love and more?

What would be possible in your life if you could have the total support of friends, family,even complete strangers everywhere you go?

You would have all the success the men above have, wouldn’t you?

JOIN us for two interesting hours around influencing people and growth oriented environment.

INVESTMENT for a mastery skill workshop: £ 10

What will you learn:

– the principles of influence and persuasion

– weapons of influence

– tips and tricks to make your opinions being heard

– body language and influence – hoe does it affect your approach and other people’s perception

__________________________________________________________________

“ME, MYSELF AND I

The INNER GAME of Public Speaking – I EXPRESS-

When: 24th September, 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm

Location: Blick Studios, 52 Hill Street, Belfast

Public speaking is one of the most essential skills one can develop in business and in life.

Just think of what you could do if you weren’t afraid to “speak up.” – whether it be in a social setting, a work environment, a sales presentation or in front of groups of people. Do you think you could make more money? Would you have more confidence? Would you ask your boss for a pay raise or the promotion that you deserved?

Whatever it is you desire in your life and career, there’s a good chance the fear of speaking to groups of people is holding you back in some way.

We have a SPECIAL GUEST for this event: ERIC LASSARD – inspirational speaker and author.

BOOKS available on sale on the night.FREE TICKETS for next events1 FREE coaching session with Lauraplus other surprises waiting for you!!!!

In this workshop, we will have:

1. Tips to overcome fears of public speaking

2. Visualizing exercises

3. Clarify old limiting habits and how to break the patterns

4. Discover new empowering habits of a great inspiring public speaker

5. Tips to adapt to the audience and ways to deal with difficult people

-Understand where the fear is coming from

-Learn some of the tips to overcome public speaking anxiety

-Learn how to connect with your audience instantly

-Learn how to use your fear of speaking to motivate you

-How to interpret your fears

In this workshop, we will explore what is the inner game of public speaking, which are the opponents and what rules do we have on the field that we can use in order to succeed.

The fear of public speaking makes a better speaker!

Speakers and facilitators

ERIC LASSARD – Inspirational speaker and game changer

“I believe that we are all born Winners. All the books, all the schools and all the religions are teaching us the same thing: that we humans come to this Earth to thrive and be happy.Even though some mornings we wake up and perhaps get an unexpected phone call or an unexpected e mail, or hear bad news – or just simply the day does not unfold as we want, we stop thriving and we stop being happy. Would it not be great if we just would have a Magic Wand, a tool that would help us in this moments?Well we have – this is The Winner Matrix!The Winner Matrix works like a program – all you have to do is to read and play it and it will rewire your brain, so that next time when you face any kind of situation it will automatically switch your mind to a positive approach and you will find the solutions!”Play with all your heart and I promise you, you will WIN!